Monzo and Fair4All Finance have partnered to widen access to credit for people excluded from mainstream lending, with the agreement centred on Monzo’s Flex Build card for customers with low or limited credit scores.

Fair4All Finance will provide a partial lending guarantee of up to £7 million to help Monzo expand a pilot of the product. More than 16 million adults in the UK face barriers to borrowing, up about 30% since 2018, according to the organisations.

Monzo introduced Flex Build as an extension of its Flex credit offering for people with weaker or limited credit histories. Under the pilot, customers make a one-off deposit that unlocks a credit limit of up to £250.

The structure is designed for people who may not qualify for standard credit products. Customers can build a repayment record over time and move towards mainstream lending if they keep up with payments, Monzo said.

The card offers 0% interest when balances are paid in full at the end of the month, or a 39% APR when customers spread the cost of a purchase. Each transaction is repaid over a fixed term of one to 24 months, rather than rolling indefinitely as with some traditional credit cards.

Customers start with a limit of up to £250, which can rise to £500 after regular on-time repayments. Monzo also said the product shows borrowing costs in pounds and pence, charges no fees for early or late repayments, and freezes spending if repayments are missed while giving customers a seven-day grace period to catch up without affecting their credit score.

Access gap

The move comes as access to affordable small-sum credit becomes a growing focus for policymakers and lenders concerned about financial exclusion. People refused mainstream credit often turn to family and friends, overdrafts or unregulated lenders, adding pressure without helping them build a stronger credit profile.

Fair4All Finance, a not-for-profit organisation focused on financial inclusion, has selected Monzo as the first partner for its Small Sum Lending Pilot. The initiative is part of the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy and is intended to encourage more lenders to offer products for people underserved by the market.

The pilot will be used to gather evidence on whether the model can serve this customer group on a sustainable basis. The organisations also plan to share findings with policymakers, regulators and other lenders.

Kate Pender, Chief Executive Officer of Fair4All Finance, said the programme would be a significant test of whether a mainstream bank could expand access to affordable borrowing for customers often shut out of the market.

“The launch of this pilot is an important moment for financial inclusion in the UK as Fair4All Finance and Monzo work together to improve access to affordable credit for those who are often shut out. By partnering with Monzo we are able to scale up a product with the potential to serve thousands more people, backed by a robust guarantee structure. This is the first step in delivering on the Government’s ambition to improve financial inclusion in the UK through a large-scale partnership with a mainstream bank, and we look forward to working with Monzo on this. We also look to the evidence from the United States, where six of the eight largest banks deliver an equivalent product at scale, and we encourage the rest of the UK banking sector to come forward and work with us to deliver new products and solutions to improve access to credit through small-sum lending,” said Pender.

Product design

The app also includes educational prompts and progress markers intended to encourage regular repayment behaviour. Customers who maintain repayments can reclaim their original deposit as they move towards standard lending products, according to Monzo.

The design reflects a wider industry effort to find alternatives to high-cost credit and overdraft use for consumers with thin or impaired credit files. Small-sum products have drawn attention as a possible way to help people manage emergency spending while creating a track record with mainstream lenders.

Luke Enock, General Manager of Borrowing at Monzo, said the bank was trying to address a gap that leaves many people unable to cover essential costs or improve their future borrowing prospects.

“Our mission is to make money work for everyone, which means breaking down the barriers to financial progress. Too many people can’t access affordable credit, leaving them unable to manage essential costs or build the repayment history needed for future borrowing. With Flex Build, we’re introducing a new kind of credit product that helps people build a credit history and progress to mainstream options over time. By partnering with Fair4All Finance, we’re reaching thousands more excluded customers, taking a vital step towards a more inclusive credit system in the UK,” said Enock.

The Treasury has identified access to responsible credit as a central element of its financial inclusion agenda. The pilot is one of the early market tests linked to that approach and will be watched by lenders assessing whether similar models can work at scale.

“Improving access to responsible credit is a central part of the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy and this pilot marks strong early progress in delivering on that ambition. Monzo’s participation is an important step forward, helping to test what role mainstream lenders can play in supporting currently underserved consumers to manage unexpected costs and build financial resilience. I welcome Monzo’s leadership in this space, alongside Fair4All Finance’s work to test practical solutions that can be scaled over time,” said Rachel Blake MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

Fair4All Finance said the guarantee structure is intended to share part of the lending risk with Monzo as it reaches customers with low or limited credit scores.

“We are delighted to work with Monzo to structure a partial lending guarantee that enables it to serve more customers, with the potential to widen access to credit for thousands of people. It’s a brilliant example of what public-private partnership can look like in amplifying social impact,” said Diana Kamil-Salmon, Associate Director of Commercial Propositions at Fair4All Finance.

Akeem Drew Changing Lives (ADCL), was launched on January 18, by Banbury entrepreneur Akeem Drew with the vision of “uniting industries and creating positive opportunities for young people”.

It aims to “empower the next generation by connecting people across industries and supporting personal and professional growth”.

Since its inception, the business has grown to include a clothing line, a record label, and a variety of training programmes.

Mr Drew said: “Through Akeem Drew Changing Lives Records, I have signed local artist Izzy Rose, who performs a wide range of music from the 1980s through to modern classics.

Akeem Drew from Banbury has set up the multi-industry business platform to create new pathways for young people in Oxfordshire (Image: Akeem Drew)

“In partnership with HR adviser Joanne McMeekin, we have also launched an ‘Introduction to Human Resources and Recruitment Level 1’ training course.”

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The latest addition to the ADCL portfolio is a multi-sports academy designed to support men’s and women’s teams, charities, and young people through sport.

Mr Drew said: “This is designed to support local men’s and women’s sports teams, bring communities together, support charities, and inspire the next generation through sport and opportunity.”

The company will host an event at the Abingdon Riverside Café on Sunday, July 12 to promote the brand and its activities.

The platform continues to expand, aiming to benefit the wider community.

Brickflow has partnered with Revcore Asset Management to launch a joint real estate workout team, combining digital property finance with asset management for distressed real estate.

The service is aimed at lenders, insolvency practitioners, developers and investors dealing with underperforming property. It covers valuation, asset management, financing, acquisition and disposal across a property’s lifecycle.

Brickflow operates a digital marketplace for specialist property finance in the UK, while Revcore manages and repositions troubled real estate assets. Their combined offer focuses on projects where owners or creditors need to preserve value, secure fresh funding or prepare assets for sale.

The move comes as higher interest rates, weaker transaction activity and rising corporate insolvencies add pressure to parts of the property market. In that environment, lenders and insolvency practitioners often need to act quickly on unfinished developments and other distressed assets.

Formally launched in the first quarter, the partnership brings together lender data from Brickflow’s marketplace with Revcore’s operational work on the ground.

The service includes active asset management, strategic marketing, buyer identification and disposal negotiations. It also covers identifying distressed properties, arranging structured finance from the outset, and overseeing projects through design, procurement and construction where work needs to restart or be completed.

Brickflow said its platform includes more than 160 lenders. The network is intended to help source commercial real estate finance for stabilisation, planning-led value creation and full development programmes.

South Coast Case

The companies pointed to a part-built 104-unit residential scheme on the South Coast as an early example of how the partnership works in practice. The development had remained unresolved for more than 18 months before Brickflow was brought in to support the workout alongside the receivers, debt adviser, lender and developer.

In that case, Brickflow used its lender network to source a development finance facility of about GBP £15 million. The financing was arranged at 87% loan to cost against a gross development value of GBP £23 million.

The funding was used to unlock the capital needed to complete the scheme. A borrower who entered the deal with GBP £3 million of equity is projected to make about GBP £5 million in profit within 15 months, according to the companies.

The partnership reflects a broader effort to extend digital finance tools into operational property recovery rather than limiting them to loan comparisons and introductions. In distressed situations, that means combining finance sourcing with direct intervention in asset strategy, development oversight and disposal planning.

Revcore’s leadership team has more than 25 years of experience across the property market and has worked through two recessions, according to the company. That background includes repositioning assets for property companies, investment funds and private investors across retail, student housing, office, industrial and residential sectors.

Brickflow has built its business around helping brokers and borrowers compare specialist property finance options and secure decisions in principle more quickly. It also provides embedded and white-label tools for brokers.

Dan Silver outlined how the combined service is intended to work for creditors and buyers.

“This partnership allows us to deliver something genuinely different for the market. For lenders and insolvency practitioners, it means having a single, trusted partner with the expertise to handle every stage of a distressed asset, from management and development through to disposal. For investors, it opens a curated pipeline of acquisition opportunities backed by structured financing and specialist development support. We’re bridging the gap between distress and value creation. We recently succeeded in turning around a known Southampton distressed project that the market considered unsalvageable. Our expertise allowed us to resolve this efficiently, resulting in a win for everyone,” said Dan Silver, Head of Partnerships, Brickflow.

Revcore said the link-up also gives it access to financing options alongside its asset management work. Its relationship with Corep provides additional input on occupier demand, leasing and investment opportunities when assets are being repositioned.

“Our team has worked through two recessions and has the experience and knowledge to understand how to protect and recover value in distressed situations. Working alongside Brickflow gives lenders and insolvency practitioners access to financing opportunities alongside our asset management expertise. Through our relationship with leading occupier-only business Corep, we also have access to occupier-led investment and leasing opportunities, as well as helping to identify occupier demand ahead of the market, which makes a real difference when repositioning an asset,” said Nick Taylor, Director, Revcore Asset Management.